Friday, December 21, 2012

Our New, FREE video workshop will unveil little known financial aid secrets to help you get the most out of your applications!We
here at the CollegeResourceCenter
realize this is a hectic and often stressful time of year. As if holidays,
get-togethers, cooking and shopping frenzies weren't enough? Now college
financial aid deadlines are quickly approaching, and those complicated,
money-saving applications are not to be forgotten either. Overwhelming? To say
the least! Whether
you are currently applying for aid, or will be in the years to come, we are
making available a FREE video workshop on managing financial aid applications that will
help you understand the full process and what you need to do to keep focused
and get the job done right the first time! This workshop will provide insight into:

·
Why
"the early bird gets the worm" concept applies for maximizing awards.

·
How
to understand the "lingo" and avoid common mistakes that could cost
you.

·
Why
clearly understanding the whole process will help you get the job done.

·
How
you can to gain control over your awards offers.

We hope that you will take advantage of this timely resource that will make your financial aid applications (and maybe even your holidays) a little less stressful!

Click here to get access to these helpful college financial aid strategies!

Pass it on! If you know anyone who might also benefit from this information, feel free to share it!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Author's note: Are you the parent of a student either currently enrolled in college - or who is planning on attending a post-secondary school next fall? You don't have to be told that college is expensive and planning is time consuming. This two-part series, designed for parents and employee assistance (and other) professionals who are assisting them in this often-difficult process, can really help!

In part I of this two-part series, I outlined some of the issues that are just the "tip" of the college planning iceberg influencing whether today's "modern" family will be able to actually afford a 4-year college. In this post, I will go over more key points.

Most EFC calculators pivot off a handful of data points- our
calculator actually pivots off close to 20 significant data points that provide
a more accurate picture of what your expected family contribution (EFC) might
be. By knowing this number ahead of time, you can create a more efficient plan for how
best to pay for college. While EFC is mostly “income”-driven in nature, our
work with families has uncovered additional “peripheral” areas, like assets,
that can influence what a family’s “true” EFC looks like. Did you know that
assets held in a student’s name can often be assessed as high as 26% in some formulas?

This is because
assets that are held in a student’s name typically do not have an asset
protection allowance. There is over $150
billion in financial aid available each year if you know how to get it and with
the competition for admissions becoming increasingly competitive, students need
to know how best to present themselves to their targeted colleges.

If you are like many of the thousands of families who feel
they are not receiving the kind of attention from their high schools that is
needed during the college application process, take a peek at some of the
various web-based tools that we have launched to help simplify this process. (www.smarttracktoolkit.com).

Be sure to monitor deadlines (both admissions and financial
aid) for each college you are applying to.
Believe it or not schools often have different deadlines for their
admissions applications versus their financial aid applications. For students applying to state schools, did
you know that different states have different deadlines for families to submit
their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) forms? States like
Kentucky, Tennessee and Vermont award aid on a first come, first-served basis
so its critical to have your forms submitted in January (as a general rule of
thumb) before most of the available aid disappears by late spring.

If you are a parent of a senior in high school or you have
kids who are currently in college and are applying for financial aid,
you can get a head start by using our College Funding tool to actually submit
all of your financial aid forms on time (including the FAFSA & CSS Profile
forms) and be entitled to a professional review with one of our experienced
college funding advisors.

Remember to use the promo code: “Impact” to receive 20% off when
you purchase any of our 5 components and feel free to contact me with any
questions you might have: jay.robie@smarttracktoolkit.com
or 800 863-9440 ext. 277. Good luck!

About Smart
Track™ Toolkit: The toolkit is a web based service that assists
families with everything from admissions and test prep, to student athletics
and financial aid. Our intuitive
software and on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students
find their top choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About the author: Jay Robie is the VP of Business
Development in the Corporate and Education channels with the College Resource Center, LLC. Jay has previous work experience as an
Admissions Counselor at St. Lawrence University and BostonCollege as well as the Director of the
Corporate Internship Program at Notre
DameHigh School. Jay also has consulted for Road to College as
an Admissions Planner.

Monday, December 17, 2012

38 minutes. The
average length of time a high school guidance counselor is able to spend with a
student discussing college-specific items.
476:1 Thenational average ratio
of high school students to guidance counselors. $1 trillion in student debt that has eclipsed credit card debt for
the 1st time in history.. College costs that rise 6-8% on average per year. A larger and
more competitive applicant pool. These
issues and averages are just the “tip” of the college planning iceberg influencing
whether today’s “modern” family will be able to actually afford a 4-year college.

Much of this information has been penned already by many
other authors, so I do not want to rehash something that has already been
“beaten” senseless into the American public but rather highlight a few pointers
that might help folks to mitigate some of their anxieties and fears. Our firm,
the College Resource Center, has worked with thousands of families over the
years on creating viable plans for how best to pay for college without going
broke and while each family’s situation is different, there is a common link
amongst them- they are all very concerned with how best to approach what can be
an overwhelming process.

Have a plan. If you don’t, your plan will arrive in the mail
when you receive your 1st tuition bill. Determine what your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) will be. This is one of THE most
important figures to know and basically lets a college know how much per year
you can afford to pay to have your son or daughter attend that fine
institution.

To get started, you can use our EFC calculator at Free Trial to register for
a free trial and learn not only what your personal EFC is, but how much it
potentially could be lowered by. (Your
free trial will also give you access to an eCalendar
to help you keep track of important dates and deadlines in the college
admissions process)

Use the promo code: “Impact” to receive 20% off when you purchase any of our 5 components and feel free to contact me with any questions you might have: jay.robie@smarttracktoolkit.com or 800 863-9440 ext. 277. Good luck!

COMING NEXT: More on EFC calculators,
admissions deadlines, and more.

About Smart
Track™ Toolkit: The toolkit is a web based service that assists
families with everything from admissions and test prep, to student athletics
and financial aid. Our intuitive
software and on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students
find their top choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About the author: Jay Robie is the VP of Business
Development in the Corporate and Education channels with the College Resource Center, LLC. Jay has previous work experience as an
Admissions Counselor at St. Lawrence University and BostonCollege as well as the Director of the
Corporate Internship Program at Notre
DameHigh School. Jay also has consulted for Road to College as
an Admissions Planner.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Applying to college can be a complicated process. But, the
reality is, if you take your time and do things right you can get through it.
Applications should not be completed overnight and the entire college search
and application process should begin well before the fall of your senior year.
The keys are planning and organization.

Even if you’re careful though, there are many different
mistakes you might make that could ruin your chances of being admitted into
your top choice college. We’ve come across a lot working with our students.
Here are a few common application and admissions mistakes that we hope you won’t succumb to…

Forgetting
Supplements: Every college has a
general admissions application. In addition, some colleges will also ask for a
Supplemental Application, or Supplement. On the Supplement, your college may
ask additional questions about your family, intended major or even housing
preference. They may also ask you to write an additional essay. Make sure that you do not forget to submit
this! Missing a supplement means an incomplete file, and incomplete files have
no chance for admission.

Missing Deadlines: Whatever you do, do not miss an
application deadline. Colleges are not flexible with this. Most
applications will become available in August before senior year. If you can,
make sure to have everything submitted to your colleges at least two weeks
prior to the deadline. This will ensure that the college receives everything in
time. Missing deadlines shows that you are irresponsible, not an attractive
quality for a prospective freshman student.

Not Managing Social
Media Accounts Properly: Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, you name it, social media is everywhere and no one is more adept
at it than teenagers. Unfortunately, it is also teenagers who most often
mismanage their accounts. Students should not assume that colleges won’t see
your Facebook page, Twitter feed, or other accounts. Admissions staff may not
have the time to actively seek out all of their applicants to check their Facebook
pages. However, if there’s a red flag on
your application or something questionable about you, they’ll check it out for
sure. You should expect that if there’s
anything public, it’s possible that admissions may see it and you should do
everything you can to clean up your profile before you get into the admissions
process.

One admissions rep at a recent event shared the story about
how a student had been admitted to their college and he had posted on his
Facebook about how he had gotten in and about all the drugs and alcohol he
would engage in over the next four years. Someone at the school saw it and notified
admissions. They rescinded his
application. Colleges are trying to
create safe and supportive residential communities, so anything that would be
concerning to the community well-being is a huge issue.

In the end, you should be comfortable letting anyone (your
mom, your grandmother, an admissions officer, potential employer) see your
page. You don’t want the reason you were denied (or application rescinded) to
your number one school to be because of a status you posted or a picture you
were tagged in.

Not Applying to Reach
or SafetySchools: Don’t limit yourself unnecessarily by only
applying to schools where you are on target with their requirements. Apply to a
variety of schools. This means safety schools, target schools, and reach schools. Safety schools are
colleges where you have a very good chance of getting in because your academic
profile is clearly stronger than most of the applicant pool. Safety schools make for a good “Plan B” and
are likely to award Merit-Based Aid since you will be a sought after applicant.
You also shouldn’t limit yourself by not applying to reach schools. Reach
schools are schools where your academic record and profile may be weaker than
what the college is typically looking for. But, there’s not always a guarantee
you won’t get in. Some schools look at special qualities and certain
characteristics when admitting students (like a legacy student). Or, if you are a highly recruited athlete,
a first class Cello player, and it just so happens the college needs to fill
the spot of lead Cellist, they could come to you. You just never know. Even if
your GPA and test scores aren’t as high as they need to be, a spectacular and
moving essay could blow the admissions officer away. Astound an admissions
officer during an interview, too, and those test scores being low might not
matter anymore. Keep your options open.

Using The WrongCollege
Name in the Application Essay: This one kills me. If you write an essay for a specific college
(usually in the Supplemental Application where you are allowed to name a
college by its name) and decide to copy and paste the essay to use for another
college (which you shouldn’t in the first place), remember to change the
college name! Unfortunately, many
students will just copy and paste the essay and use it for another college and
forget to change the name… so the essay with the line, “I can’t wait to join the rest of the freshman class at
UMass Amherst in the fall” goes to UNH. Admissions officers hate this. It shows that you aren’t truly interested or
invested in the college, not enough to write a separate essay for that college
and not enough to proof read your application or re-read your
essay before submitting.

Admissions applications aren’t always easy, but it doesn’t
mean that they have to be difficult. The more you know about the process and
the more research you do, the better off you’ll be. Using tools like our
Admissions Assistance component or our Student Positioning component can make
the process a breeze and really help to eliminate unnecessary stress. Take our
advice here and you’ll be well on your way to admission as your top choice
college. Until next time, best of success!

About Smart Track™
Toolkit: The toolkit is a web based service that assists families
with everything from admissions and test prep, to student athletics and
financial aid. Our intuitive software and on-demand workshops are key
components to making sure students find their top choice colleges, and families
can afford to send them there.

About the
author: Laura Guarino is the Student Services Coordinator with
the College Resource Center, LLC.
Laura has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development from BostonCollege and
a Master’s degree and license in School Guidance Counseling. She also
holds a certificate in College Admissions Counseling. Laura is at the
forefront of the college admissions process for the families of The Smart Track™ Toolkit.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

This is a question we get quite a bit: whether to play it safe and get the A in a regular college prep level course, or to challenge yourself and take the Honors or AP course, but get a lower grade, such as a B or a C. Typically, the most weight given to any high school student's college application is to their high school transcript. This not only includes their grades, but also the level and rigor of their curriculum. Colleges want to know that the student is actively pushing himself, taking the most challenging, yet appropriate, courses that he can.

The answer that most colleges will give you is that, it’s
better to get an A in the Honors/AP class.
Well, of course. And most highly selective colleges will expect that you do. But in reality,
most colleges would rather see a B in an Honors or AP course. They want to see that you are truly challenging
yourself, but that you are still mastering the material. If you’re getting C’s or D’s in the class,
you clearly aren’t mastering the material, and should re-think your placement
in the course.

Now if a student has all A’s in his College Prep (CP) level courses,
it may look as though he’s smart enough and capable to take a few Honors or AP
courses but is playing it safe; he’s not up for the challenge. Colleges may be put off by this. This type of student should try to take on
just a couple of Honors or AP courses, potentially in the subjects he feels
most comfortable in, those where his strengths lie, or those he is most
interested in (or potentially may major in).

But will this impact
my GPA? At most high schools, Honors and AP courses are weighted
differently than CP courses, thus giving “extra credit” to students in the
higher level courses for performing well.
Colleges typically know which high schools do not use weighted ranks and
take this into consideration while reviewing and comparing students. Ask your guidance counselor exactly what your
grading and weighting system is at your high school. They should also be able to recommend whether
you should move up a level in a particular course.

What if my school
doesn’t offer Honors or AP courses?
Colleges will be aware of what your high school offers and will evaluate you
in terms of what opportunities you had and what classes were available to you. You won't be penalized for not taking higher level courses if they aren't offered. However, if Honors or AP courses aren't offered at your school, see if there are any other opportunities you can engage in, such as taking courses at a local college or community college or through an online program (i.e., Virtual High School). Colleges will love your initiative.

Ultimately, colleges are looking for students who push
themselves, who take the most challenging, yet appropriate, course load that’s
available to them and that they can realistically handle and perform well. Not every student can realistically take on a
full course load of honors and AP courses and do well. Know yourself and ask those around you who
know you well, such as your teachers and guidance counselor.

Please
share any additional tips you have!

AboutSmart Track™
Toolkit: The toolkit is a
web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and
test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and
on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top
choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About the author:Laura Guarinois
the Student Services Coordinator with theCollege
Resource Center, LLC.
Laura has a degree in Human Development fromBostonCollege and recently received her Master’s degree in School
Guidance Counseling. She is also enrolled in a certificate program in
College Admissions Counseling. Laura is at the forefront of the college
admissions process for the families ofThe Smart
Track™ Toolkit.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

As a recent Master's Degree graduate, I'd like to share
some tips for students headed off to graduate school or even just considering
it.

1. Be prepared to not have a free moment. Working and going to graduate school part-time evenings and
weekends is nothing like your undergraduate experience. You have to really want
this and be truly dedicated. It's incredibly hard to manage your work life,
school work, and personal life. Know what you're getting yourself into and make
sure that this is 100% what you want to do.

2. Join
professional associations and organizations within your field

(student rates are much cheaper!). They
will provide you with great resources and professional development
opportunities to get involved. In addition, go to professional conferences in
your field to learn more and more importantly to network. You WILL graduate
before you know it and you need to be active in your field and show your
colleagues how good you are at what you do.

3. Make friends in your program– these are your future colleagues and professionals in the
field. Once you’re employed after you graduate, it’s also great to have
someone to bounce ideas off of other than a supervisor or boss – get their
contact information and stay connected after graduation. Also, depending
on your field of study, some programs are more project based with more group
work than others. It can be difficult to engage in group work now that
you’re probably not living on campus or connected with many other students.

4. Be involved in class and develop positive
relationships with your professors.
Your professors, much like your classmates, are your future colleagues and
you’ll probably be asking them for letters of reference upon graduation.
They may also have an in somewhere once you’re looking for jobs.

5. Complete an internship. Many Master’s level programs require it. If
they don’t, make sure you are either working in your field already or have some
kind of internship experience, whether it’s paid or unpaid (paid is preferred
but be prepared for something unpaid, as most are). You’ll need to get
your foot in the door somewhere and have some kind of experience on your resume.

6. Make sure that this is what you truly want to do. This is a huge commitment, so make sure you at
least work in the field first and understand what being a professional in this
specific industry means. Don’t invest all the time, money, and energy
into something unless you really know this is for you.

7. Choose a college for the quality of the program,
not for brand name. You are most
likely paying for this college experience on your own with no help from your
parents. Now is not the time to acquire tens of thousands of dollars of
debt. Even better, try to find a job in your field of study where your
employer has tuition reimbursement options available and will help you pay for
your schooling.

8. Understand that it may take more than 1-2 years to
complete your program. Some programs
will advertise that they are 1 or 2 year programs, but be careful. They are
probably assuming you will go full-time (including summers) and are not
including any kind of internship or practicum requirements in that time frame.
For example, I was told my program was a 2 year program and it ended up taking
me 4 years to complete it. If you are working full-time and only taking classes
part-time in the evenings and weekends, it will take you longer than someone
who can take 3-4 classes at a time because they are only working part-time or
are unemployed.

Ultimately, graduate school is a huge investment of time,
money, and energy. Be well informed and do your research! Please
share any additional tips you have!

About Smart Track™ Toolkit: The toolkit is a
web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and
test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and
on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top
choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About the author: Laura
Guarino is the Student Services
Coordinator with the College Resource Center, LLC. Laura has
a degree in Human Development from BostonCollegeand
recently received her Master’s degree in School Guidance Counseling. She
is also enrolled in a certificate program in College Admissions
Counseling. Laura is at the forefront of the college admissions process
for the families of The Smart Track™ Toolkit.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Middlebury was another one of my favorite schools simply
because it was SO beautiful. Middlebury is a very highly selective liberal arts
college with an international and global scope.
Middlebury was larger than we’ve seen at a nice size of 2,450 students,
although just by walking across the campus you may think that more students
attend due to the size of the space that the campus sits on. The campus is stunning, the buildings are
beautiful and the overall space is just very attractive.

Middlebury is renowned for its leadership in language
instruction and international studies and is also nationally known for its
programs in environmental studies. As I
mentioned, Middlebury is very selective.
Out of 8,533 applications that were received in the 2010-2011 year, only
1,500 were admitted for September and another 156 for February. Students who are admitted to Middlebury are usually
in the top 5-10% of their class with straight A’s in high level rigorous
courses. Even so, Middlebury simply only
has so much space and will still reject some top students. So, what do you need to get in (besides high
GPA, SAT/ACT, etc)? They said that they
are impressed by candidates that show “passionate
engagement” – not students who are involved in 15 different clubs and
organizations, but are involved in a few things and are truly engaged and show
leadership in those. A remarkable essay
can certainly help and they look for students who distinguish themselves by
thinking outside the box and showing entrepreneurial thinking and leadership
skills.

Middlebury actually encourages students to do a half year or
full year off between high school and college to do some type of gap year program and they have recently begun
a new initiative to encourage transfers from community colleges. They accept students into both the
traditional fall term, and also into the college at the start of their February
term. They believe that students who
take the half year off and enroll in February typically bring more to their
college experience and, as a result, derive more from it. These students also hold a higher number of
leadership positions on campus and, on average, perform better academically. Middlebury believes that students benefit
greatly from the opportunity to travel, work, or pursue other interests, and
all of those options can help contribute to an even more enriching college
experience. Students who enter their
freshman year in February are called “Febs.”
While Middlebury encourages this gap period, they do also recommend that
students go through the college admissions process during the normal time their
senior year and once admitted, then consider gap year options that are available.

UVM was by far the largest school we saw at about 10,000
undergraduates. At over 100 majors, they
have a wide variety of programs to choose from.
They are split into 7 different colleges – Arts & Sciences,
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering and Math, Education and Social
Services, Business Administration, Nursing and Health Sciences, Environment and
Natural Resources. Like many colleges we
visited, they have a hands-on, experiential learning style and are committed to
the environment and social justice. They
were actually one of the first colleges to ban plastic water bottles on campus!

Because UVM is the largest school we saw, naturally class
size is going to be larger – at about 31 and student/faculty ratio a little
higher, at 17:1. The most popular
programs are business administration, biology/biological sciences, psychology,
English, nursing, animal science, political science, environmental sciences,
history, and mechanical engineering.

A great part of UVM is that it offers undergraduate research
opportunities for students. Students
assist faculty in research in a wide range of fields. Several programs even provide research grants
for undergrads. UVM was one of the few
colleges we saw that had Greek life – there are 16 fraternities/sororities
(about 8% of students are involved).
Also maybe the only school to have Division I sports – 18 of them. Housing is available at UVM all four years
and about a little over half of students are residential.

Because UVM is located in Burlington, students have the opportunity to
be in a city-like atmosphere, with options for shopping, dining, museums, outdoor
activities, etc. While some of these
other campuses are located in such rural areas, it is difficult to get that
same college town feel that Burlington
gives.

While Vermont has the
highest number of colleges and universities per capita in the US, there is
very little competition among the schools.
The admissions staff of the colleges works more on a collegial basis,
making sure that each student has a good fit with the college. For example, if a student applies to one college
and the admissions counselor realizes it’s just not a good fit, he may call up
an admissions rep at another college in VT and speak to why this particular student
might be a great fit for another college.

Overall, Vermont
is a gorgeous area. There is a beautiful
view from almost anywhere you are in the state.
At almost every college the landscape was just stunning. It’s a completely different feel than being
in a major city. Most of the colleges,
with the exception of UVM are small – fewer than 3,000 students and most are very
small – under 1,000 students. If you are
looking for a small college where there is a small average class size, small
student/faculty ratio and where professors know your name, provide support, and
are accessible, Vermont
may be perfect for you. Many students at
various schools told us that they “didn’t want to be just a number” and got the
personal attention they needed and didn’t feel lost in the crowd. Another thing I picked up was that almost
every school had a very hands-on, experiential style of learning – the students
learn most by doing and there was an emphasis on internships, community
service, social justice, and an active student body.

There’s a different culture in Vermont.
People seem to be more laid back and friendly. At many of the schools we saw students were
just walking around campus barefoot – it is just a way of being that embodies
many of the schools. Because it’s Vermont and Vermont
lacks diversity in general, many of these schools lack diversity, although they
all seem to be trying very hard. So, if
you are looking for diversity among the student population, make sure you know
what you are getting at the schools you choose to apply.

There is a huge outdoor culture in Vermont.
If you don’t like the outdoors, snow, and being active outside… you
should probably re-think Vermont. There is a huge ski / snowboard culture and
many of the colleges give discounted rates and passes to the local mountains –
of which there are many – Sugarbush, Stowe, Bolton Valley, Smugglers’ Notch, Jay
Peak, Killington, Mount Snow, Stratton… etc.

You’ve really got to love the outdoors if you decide to go
to Vermont. There are so many different activities that
you can be involved in and many students are – hiking, cross country skiing,
snowmobiling, horseback riding, bicycling, climbing, whitewater boating, snow
shoeing, mountain biking, rock climbing, fly-fishing, canoeing, camping,
swimming….

Ultimately, YOU NEED TO VISIT (and spend the night if you
can) to really understand what these colleges and communities are all about. I had an idea of what I thought a few of
these colleges were about, and you just can’t get a good picture from reading
the website and brochure. Even the
virtual tours, while they do provide a good place to start, you need to actually step foot on campus and talk to real students to see what the college is all
about. This was such a fantastic
experience, I am so grateful for everything I learned and all the wonderful
people I met!

Any additional information to share about these
colleges? Leave your comments!

About Smart Track™
Toolkit: The toolkit is a
web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and
test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and
on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top
choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About the author: Laura Guarino is the Student Services Coordinator
with the College Resource Center, LLC. Laura has a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development from BostonCollege
and a Master’s Degree in School Guidance Counseling. She is also enrolled in a certificate program
in College Admissions Counseling. Laura
is at the forefront of the college admissions process for the families of The Smart
Track™ Toolkit.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

GreenMountainCollege
is a small (750 students) environmentally based college with a strong focus on
affordability. In terms of the actual
campus, there is a nice balance between the typical esthetically pleasing
college buildings and the farm. GreenMountain also has a satellite campus in Killington,
VT for a 3-year Resort and
Hospitality Management program where students work at the resort as part of
their program (very cool!).

At the heart of GreenMountainCollege’s
environmental mission is a 37-credit Environmental Liberal Arts General
Education Program, which all students complete.
The program combines the skills and content of a strong liberal arts
course of study with a focus on the environment. Like most other colleges, experiential
learning is also central to education at GMC.
Students are encouraged to gain hands-on experiences through
internships, service-learning opportunities and study abroad programs.

A very cool thing about GreenMountain
was their Green Mountain College Adventure Programming or GreenMAP. GreenMAP provides low cost equipment rentals,
recreational and instructional adventure programs, and the Wilderness
Challenge, GMC’s wilderness orientation program for new students. Within GreenMAP is the Trip Leader program, a
leadership commitment combining structured experience development, activity
specific training, wilderness medicine, mentoring, reflection, and evaluation.

GreenMountainCollege
sits on a 123-acre campus on the PoultneyRiver – divided into 3 regions – 39
acres of natural areas including the PoultneyRiver buffer zone, 40
acres on Cerridwen Farm, and 44 acres of designed buildings, landscapes, and
athletic fields. This green space on the
campus provides ecosystem services and is vital to education, research, and
recreation. The campus lands are
essentially outdoor classrooms and field sites for projects for students and
faculty. They are used in practical
application of skills learned in courses, and provide a healthy and attractive
living area for the community.

St. Joseph’s is a small (400
students) Catholic career-focused liberal arts college located in the Green Mountains. The
college offers 30 career oriented majors, with most popular majors being
Psychology & Human Services, Business, and Criminal Justice. There is a focus on programs that yield
licensure as well as a focus on internship and hands-on learning programs. Their goal is for students to get the field
experience they need to land a great job post-graduation.

While we were there, they highlighted the STEPS program
(Students Taking an Effective Path to Success), which is a program for Vermont youth
transitioning out of foster care. The
program runs through a partnership between the Vermont Student Assistance
Corporation and the Vermont Department of Children and Families. The college provides a supportive campus
environment for these students so that they are able to earn a college degree,
develop work skills, experience counseling and guidance, and become effective
members of society. Students accepted
into the STEPS program will be provided with important services such as
year-round housing and meal service as well as access to career and personal
counseling. These students must meet the
usual academic requirements, including the submission of SAT or ACT
scores. STEPS students’ tuition and fees
are covered by federal and state financial aid packages so the financial aid
office works very closely with these students to make sure that college remains
affordable.

CastletonState reminded me more of
a typical college campus. It’s a bit
larger than what we’ve seen, at 1,900 undergraduates and houses 30 academic
programs and majors, 20 intercollegiate sports (Div III) and many different
clubs and activities. The nursing
program at Castleton is more selective and requires an additional review. While the average GPA of admitted students is
a 3.0, it is the minimum required to be considered for the nursing program (the
only program with additional standards).
Castleton is also a leader in teacher education, where students become
involved in fieldwork during their very first year.

In addition to nursing, some special programs Castleton
offers are a 4+2 Occupational Therapy program and a 4+3 Physical Therapy
program, in which students typically major in Health Science and then go on to
a Doctoral Program. Castleton also has a
Communication program with focuses in Digital Media, Journalism, Mass Media,
and Public Relations and has a pretty cool TV studio that we saw.

Like some of the other colleges have a focus on green energy
and sustainability, CastletonState also has a Green
Campus Initiative to improve the environment and work toward a sustainable
future. Initiatives include using
“green” construction in new buildings, purchasing hybrid vehicles for the
college fleet, reducing electric use by installing energy-efficient lights, and
making recycling a way of life.

Coming up next... Middlebury College & University of Vermont and then an overview of the entire trip...

Any additional information to share about these
colleges? Leave your comments!

About Smart Track™
Toolkit: The toolkit is a
web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and
test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and
on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top
choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About the author: Laura Guarino is the Student Services Coordinator
with the College Resource Center, LLC. Laura has a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development from BostonCollege
and recently received her Master's Degree in School Guidance Counseling. She is also enrolled in a certificate program
in College Admissions Counseling. Laura
is at the forefront of the college admissions process for the families of The Smart
Track™ Toolkit.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

MarlboroCollege is a very small
liberal arts college of about 270 students with accessible faculty and a class
size of about 8 students. Most
graduates, about 70% go on to graduate school as opposed to entering the work
force right after graduation. Marlboro
is a little unique in that they do not have majors, instead they have
concentrated fields of study that the students choose themselves. There are no required courses and in terms of
assessment there are mostly papers or cumulative projects to show student
learning and achievement.

Students engage in a “plan” – a giant independent project,
which is essentially deemed as their major.
Students will graduate with a Liberal Arts degree, but with a
concentration in whatever area their “plan” showcases. The students here are a bit quirky and very
intellectual, passionate, independent and self-motivated; I’m assuming most
probably go on to get their Ph.D. or start non-profits. When we walked around
campus, you are supposed to take your shoes off upon entering the dorms and
from what I could tell, there were no TVs in the dorms (although the guide
admitted many watch TV on their computers with Netflix). The buildings aren’t your typical college
campus type buildings.

Some examples of student designed programs:

·Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts &
Writing/Literature: An exploration of family and home in a collection of
paintings and a body of creative non-fiction, with a critical essay examining a
contemporary American novel.

·Bachelor of Science in Physics & Computer
Science: Development of a broad understanding of physics through the creation
of software to analyze x-ray diffraction data.

·Bachelor of Arts in International Studies in
Politics & French: An internship in Rwanda culminating in a series of
essays addressing individual complicity in systemic crimes.

Southern Vermont is a small
liberal arts college of about 550 undergraduate students, although they are
looking to grow to about 700-750 students.
Their most popular major is health studies and our tour guide was a
nursing major, although they have 18 career focused majors and programs of
study. The college focuses on
experiential, hands-on laboratory work, internships, and practicum
opportunities as part of the overall learning process.

Southern Vermont has more
of a traditional college campus feel – with dorms and athletic facility on the
lower campus and then a very short ride to the upper campus which has a
gorgeous stone building that holds all of the students’ classes. SVC offers over 20 clubs and organizations
and has 10 Division III athletic teams.
Just a few stats – 60% female, 40% male, 64% first gen, 35% from Vermont,
82% employed or in graduate school at commencement, 78% admitted, 91%
retention, and pretty affordable at $32,000 tuition & room/board.

BenningtonCollege was another
unique, non-traditional, small liberal arts college with about 686
undergraduate students where every student designs his own major. There is no core curriculum and each student
has a 7 week internship each year in between fall and spring semesters. Similar to Marlboro, there is an integration
of different areas of curriculum around central ideas or questions through the
“Plan Process”, which is the heart of a Bennington
education.

Students work very closely with their professors who are
actively practicing in their fields. The
“Plan Process”: the first year (exploration) the students take a variety of
courses to begin to identify the questions that will determine the direction of
their studies. Year 2 and 3 (immersion)
students dive into a particular discipline, a cluster of disciplines, or a
question. Students will propose a formal
plan for their studies and work with faculty to determine specific requirements
that will ensure depth, rigor, and mastery.
Year 4 (opening outward), students explore how their own work relates to
others’ and how their deepening understanding of a subject or craft might
matter to the rest of the world.
Students choose either a senior project or thesis paper to conclude
their work.

Coming up next... Green Mountain College, College of St. Joseph, and Castleton State College...

AboutSmart Track™
Toolkit: The toolkit is a
web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and
test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and
on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top
choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About
the author:Laura Guarinois
the Student Services Coordinator with theCollege
Resource Center, LLC.
Laura has a degree in Human Development fromBostonCollege and recently received her Master’s degree in School
Guidance Counseling. She is also enrolled in a certificate program in
College Admissions Counseling. Laura is at the forefront of the college
admissions process for the families ofThe Smart
Track™ Toolkit.

Friday, May 25, 2012

NorwichUniversity was
surprisingly one of my favorite visits and a one of a kind in terms of schools
we visited. First, it was absolutely
beautiful. Norwich
is the oldest private military college in the United States. Norwich
is a partial-military school with about 2300 undergraduates, 1400 cadets and
900 civilians. Interestingly, students
who enter the university as a cadet have the option to transfer into the
civilian population and students who graduate as cadets have no obligation to
go into the military after. I find this
a great option for students who want a military education and learning
environment but don’t want to commit to service post-graduation. While 58-60% of students do enter the military
after gradation, about 42% go into other levels, such as working for the
government or other similar services.
All branches of ROTC are offered at Norwich (Army, Navy, Marines, Air
Force). Norwich is actually the birthplace of
ROTC. The staff at Norwich emphasized a safe environment with a
very low crime rate, possibly due to the living honor code share by all
students.

Norwich
offers 20 different varsity sports at the Div III level, hockey being most
popular on campus. Cadets and civilians
are integrated throughout the campus – they work together in classes, sports,
clubs and extracurricular activities, etc.
They share almost every aspect of campus life except for housing. Cadets must rise at 5:30am and have a very
regimented schedule, something that Civilians simply didn’t sign up for.

Impressively, there is a 98.1% placement rate within a
student’s career field of study within 8 months of graduation.

While we didn’t get a strong feeling of why civilians seek
out Norwich, I
assume that they are drawn by the university’s guiding values, integrity, leadership
opportunities and structure that is provided.
Norwich is a small school and provides
attention and a supportive community, much like the other Vermont schools we visited.

Vermont Technical is Vermont’s
only technical college. It has 9
campuses across the state and has a variety of programs including agriculture,
equine studies, business, nursing, respiratory therapy, dental, auto tech,
professional pilot tech, vet tech, engineering tech, computer information tech,
and more. On the main campus in Randolph which is located
in the geographical center of the state, Vermont Technical has about 1600
students with residence halls for about 620.

We were told that most students do leave campus on the
weekends. While we were assured that
there are still students around and things to do on the weekends, if you are
looking for a school where most students stay on campus, this school may not be
for you. Students coming to Vermont
Technical should pretty much know what they want to study, as these are very
specific, career oriented majors. The
college, like many others we saw, focuses on real-time, hands-on experience
taught by professors who are experts in their field.

LandmarkCollege is unique in that
it is a college exclusively for students with learning disabilities. At a total undergrad population of 500
students, it offers multi-modal learning mostly in associate’s degree programs,
although a Bachelor’s program was just approved for the fall (BA in Liberal
Studies). Prospective students must have
a Learning Disability (LD), ADHD, or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to be
considered. About half of the students
at Landmark transfer in after they have been unsuccessful elsewhere.

There are a few different entry points into the
college. Students can enter at credit
level, at partial credit (reading and writing skills at 7-10 grade level), or a
non-credit language intensive curriculum (significant difficulty in reading and
writing). The college has a very small
student to faculty ratio at 5:1.
Students are provided with programs that are really tailored to students
with learning difficulties. As I
mentioned there is a multi-modal delivery method of instruction, teaching that
exposes the “hidden curriculum”, explicit skills instruction, and asynchronous
materials organization. Students have an
advisor whom they meet with on a weekly basis who is also the primary contact
for parents (high level of communication with parents at Landmark). The school also provides students with
different levels of assistive technology, such as Dragon and Kurziwel, and all
textbooks are scanned and available digitally.

Landmark is a highly residential campus with 98% of students
living on campus. Associate programs include General Studies, Liberal Arts,
Life Sciences, Computer Science / Game Design, Business Studies, and Business
Administration.

Landmark is meant to be used as a stepping stone for
students to discover the power of successful learning and the skills they need
to be successful in their future academic pursuits. The average stay for a student at Landmark is
about 3 semesters. There is a full
transfer office to help students with the transfer process. There is a direct correlation from length of
stay at LandmarkCollege to completion of a Bachelor’s
degree program. Of students that
completed a full 2-year program, 80% go on to complete Bachelor’s degree
programs. The number one transfer
college is University of Denver in Colorado
but students go on to a variety of different places.

While Landmark is a bit pricy at $58,000, the entire amount
can be tax deductable as a medical expense.
Families can also deduct travel expenses and book supplies. Landmark is currently working towards making
their college more affordable.

AboutSmart Track™
Toolkit: The toolkit is a
web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and
test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and
on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top
choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About the author:Laura Guarinois
the Student Services Coordinator with theCollege
Resource Center, LLC.
Laura has a degree in Human Development fromBostonCollege and recently
received her Master’s degree in School Guidance Counseling. She is also
enrolled in a certificate program in College Admissions Counseling. Laura
is at the forefront of the college admissions process for the families ofThe Smart
Track™ Toolkit.